Category: Good News

A recent study published in MJA.com.au revealed that acupuncture may serve as a safe and effective alternative to pain-relieving drugs for patients arriving at a hospital’s emergency room. As part of the study, a team of researchers led by the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Australia that examined 528 patients with acute low back pain, migraine, or ankle sprains who were rushed to emergency rooms of various hospitals between January 2010 and December 2011.

The participants who rated their pain levels at four out of a 10-point scale received three types of treatment, which involved acupuncture alone, pharmacotherapy alone, or a combination of both. The study revealed that less than 40 percent of patients across all treatment groups reported significant reductions in pain after one hour of treatment, while more than 80 percent continued to have a pain rating of four. However, the research team noted that most patients rated their therapies acceptable after a treatment duration of 48 hours. According to the study, nearly 83 percent of patients in the acupuncture only-group said they would repeat the treatment, compared with only 78.2 percent in the pharmacotherapy-only group, and 80.8 percent in the combination treatment group.

“While acupuncture is widely used by practitioners in community settings for treating pain, it is rarely used in hospital emergency departments. Emergency nurses and doctors need a variety of pain-relieving options when treating patients, given the concerns around opioids such as morphine, which carry the risk of addiction when used long-term. Our study has shown acupuncture is a viable alternative, and would be especially beneficial for patients who are unable to take standard pain-relieving drugs because of other medical conditions. But it’s clear we need more research overall to develop better medical approaches to pain management, as the study also showed patients initially remained in some pain, no matter what treatment they received,” lead researcher Professor Marc Cohen quoted in ScienceDaily.com.

“Some Australian emergency departments already offer acupuncture when trained staff are available but further studies are needed on ways to improve pain management overall in emergency departments, and the potential role for acupuncture in this. We need to determine the conditions that are most responsive to acupuncture, the feasibility of including the treatment in emergency settings, and the training needed for doctors or allied health personnel,” Prof. Cohen stated in a separate article in DailyMail.co.uk.

More studies attesting to how acupuncture relieves pain

The recent study was only one of the many research indicating acupuncture’s efficacy in pain management. In fact, a meta-analysis published last year in MayoClinicProceedings.org revealed that acupuncture was among other complementary health practices that showed favorable results in alleviating common pain. To carry out the analysis, a team of researchers from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health at the National Institutes of Health reviewed 105 U.S.-based randomized controlled trials and identified treatment that will address one or more of five painful conditions including back pain, osteoarthritis, and neck pain as well as fibromyalgia, severe headaches, and migraine.

The research team found that acupuncture was highly effective in treating back pain. The study also revealed that the alternative treatment can be used in alleviating osteoarthritis of the knee. The results offer both patients and health providers information that is necessary for discussing non-drug approaches in pain management, the research team concluded.

Another study published in Health.USNews.comshowed that acupuncture therapy was highly effective in relieving pain and improving the quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia. According to the study, the pain scores of patients who received acupuncture had an average decline of 41 percent at 10 weeks. In contrast, those who received a simulated acupuncture treatment had a 27 percent reduction in pain scores.

“The food you eat can either be the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.”
– Ann Wigmore

“He who takes medicine and neglects diet wastes the skill of the physician.”
– Chinese Proverb

There are mainstream doctors, and there are open-minded doctors who are few, but dedicated, within the alternative health community. Dr. Mercola is one of these select few who isn’t afraid to not only call it how it is, but back up what he says with significant contributions and hard work.

Anyone that has been reading Dr. Mercola’s work for quite some time knows what kind of quality of work they will get. For those that might be newer, as all of us were at one time, Dr. Mercola has been putting in hard work on his website, and he has been dedicated to help others find truths within the sphere of health, no matter how uncomfortable they may be.

It is no surprise then that in Fat For Fuel, Dr. Mercola has come out once again pulling no punches with his new effort to show the truth behind the myths claiming fats being unhealthy. Better yet, he goes beyond that to provide the ample benefits that are to be had by eating healthy fats, which harbor immense benefits.

Fat For Fuel is a veritable crash course on how to streamline your health. Some of the most salient points in the book, which stand to help a lot of individuals, is that Dr. Mercola takes a very comprehensive approach into showing how to cut off the supply line for cancer cells, how to improve your overall health with simple dietary/lifestyle changes, and even discusses how to maintain healthy mitochondria, which helps maintain optimal health reducing the likelihood of cancer, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Type 2 Diabetes and other diseases.

All of this comes about through what Dr. Mercola calls Mitochondrial Metabolic Therapy [MMT]. Essentially, what MMT does is target mitochondria, which aids in bringing about healing of chronic disease. This is accomplished by making sure the body uses fat as a primary fuel, rather than using glucose, which is far less optimal.

The system that Mercola provides is rather comprehensive in its approach, while not overlooking common issues that individuals may face in their journey towards optimal health. The book offers considerations like when to eat and how much time to leave between, what cooking oils to avoid that are deleterious to health, ways to help individuals self-monitor their own health, and much more.

Extensively covered as well are the many benefits of fasting. Thankfully, there are a few fasting options offered, as well as many of the do’s and don’ts as well. Also covered there in are Mercola’s own favorite fast, as well as other fasts which also help the body reach optimal health.

The book even covers many of the extensive issues that are prevalent within individuals with too much iron. This part alone is quite salient since it couples directly too many other health issues like Cancer, Diabetes, Obesity, and more.

In its totality, Fat For Fuel is an in-depth look at how the marvel of the human body can achieve healing by providing it with the proper fuel source. If you’re interested in healing yourself without having to deal with the myriad issues of that conventional medicine espouses, then consideration of this book should be done. One thing is for sure, after reading Fat For Fuel people will never think of fats – healthy fats! – in the same way ever again.

___________________________________________________________
This article is free and open source. All individuals are encouraged to share this content and have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Zy Marquiez and TheBreakaway.wordpress.com.
___________________________________________________________About The Author:

His other blog, BreakawayConsciousnessBlog.wordpress.com features mainly his personal work, while TheBreakaway.wordpress.com serves as a media portal which mirrors vital information nigh always ignored by mainstream press, but still highly crucial to our individual understanding of various facets of the world.

“Friendship is unnecessary,” C.S. Lewis wrote, “like philosophy, like art, like the universe itself… it has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.” Darwinian caveats aside, the truth of this beautiful sentiment resonates deeply for anyone whose life has been enriched or even saved by the existence of a genuine friend. And yet today, as we face the commodification of the word “friend,” what do we even mean — what should we mean — by this once-sacred term, now vacated of meaning by chronic misuse?

Eighteen centuries before Emerson wrote in his meditation on the two pillars of friendship that “a friend is a person with whom [one] may be sincere,” Seneca considers the uses and misuses of the term in a magnificent letter titled “On True and False Friendship”:

If you consider any man a friend whom you do not trust as you trust yourself, you are mightily mistaken and you do not sufficiently understand what true friendship means… When friendship is settled, you must trust; before friendship is formed, you must pass judgment. Those persons indeed put last first and confound their duties, who … judge a man after they have made him their friend, instead of making him their friend after they have judged him. Ponder for a long time whether you shall admit a given person to your friendship; but when you have decided to admit him, welcome him with all your heart and soul. Speak as boldly with him as with yourself… Regard him as loyal and you will make him loyal.

In another letter, titled “On Philosophy and Friendship,” Seneca examines the common bases upon which friendships are formed and admonishes against the tendency, particularly common today, toward seeing others as utilitarian tools that help advance one’s personal goals. Observing that some people form so-called friendships by estimating how much a potential friend can help them in a moment of need, he writes:

He who regards himself only, and enters upon friendships for this reason, reckons wrongly. The end will be like the beginning: he has made friends with one who might assist him out of bondage; at the first rattle of the chain such a friend will desert him. These are the so-called “fair-weather” friendships; one who is chosen for the sake of utility will be satisfactory only so long as he is useful. Hence prosperous men are blockaded by troops of friends; but those who have failed stand amid vast loneliness their friends fleeing from the very crisis which is to test their worth. Hence, also, we notice those many shameful cases of persons who, through fear, desert or betray. The beginning and the end cannot but harmonize. He who begins to be your friend because it pays will also cease because it pays. A man will be attracted by some reward offered in exchange for his friendship, if he be attracted by aught in friendship other than friendship itself.

With an eye to such arrangements of convenience and favor, which he condemns as “a bargain and not a friendship,” Seneca adds:

One who seeks friendship for favourable occasions, strips it of all its nobility.

In another letter, Seneca cautions against mistaking flattery for friendship — an admonition all the more urgent today, in the Age of Likes, when the forms of flattery and the channels of positive reinforcement have proliferated to a disorienting degree:

How closely flattery resembles friendship! It not only apes friendship, but outdoes it, passing it in the race; with wide-open and indulgent ears it is welcomed and sinks to the depths of the heart, and it is pleasing precisely wherein it does harm.

He turns the beam of his wisdom toward the only valid and noble reason for forming a friendship:

For what purpose, then, do I make a man my friend? In order to have someone for whom I may die, whom I may follow into exile, against whose death I may stake my own life, and pay the pledge, too.

In another letter, Seneca suggests that such genuine friendship extends its rewards beyond the personal realm and becomes the civilizational glue that holds humanity together:

Friendship produces between us a partnership in all our interests. There is no such thing as good or bad fortune for the individual; we live in common. And no one can live happily who has regard to himself alone and transforms everything into a question of his own utility; you must live for your neighbour, if you would live for yourself. This fellowship, maintained with scrupulous care, which makes us mingle as men with our fellow-men and holds that the human race have certain rights in common, is also of great help in cherishing the more intimate fellowship which is based on friendship… For he that has much in common with a fellow-man will have all things in common with a friend.

Native Americans used a variety of herbal medicines for treating a plethora of illnesses. An article published in AskaPrepper.comlisted 23 of the most commonly-used plants in the arsenal of Native American medicine.

Blackberry – These antioxidant-rich berries were commonly used by the Cherokee people to treat an upset stomach. Blackberry tea is used to relieve swollen tissue and joints, and treat diarrhea. Blackberry root mixed with honey or maple syrup is a potent, all-natural cough syrup.

Yarrow – Ancient Greeks used yarrow to stem excess bleeding. The pioneers and Aborigines also used the plant as a poultice applied directly on open wounds to promote blood clotting.

Rosemary – This plant is considered sacred among Native American tribes. They used the plant as an analgesic to ease sore joints, muscle pain and spasms. Rosemary is also used to improve memory and boost the circulatory, immune, and nervous system.

Sumac – While the plant has many uses, Native American healers primarily used it for treating eye problems. It is also used as a gargle for sore throat.

Black gum bark – The Cherokee people used to brew mild tea from twigs and black gum bark to ease chest pain.

Cattail – Known as the “supermarket of the swamp,” cattails are an excellent food source among the Native Americans. The plant’s easily digestible parts make it an ideal recovery food.

Devil’s claw – Tea made from devil’s claw may reduce the effects of diabetes. The plant is also used to treat skin conditions, arthritis, and digestion issues.

Ashwagandha – The plant is used to treat a variety of ailments including bone weakness, muscle weakness, and tension as well as loose teeth, memory loss, and rheumatism.

Native American medicine has long been touted for its effective use of plants in healing a variety of diseases. Native American medicine is believed to be as old as 40,000 years and is practically a combination of health practices of more than 500 distinct nations residing in the Americas prior to European exploration at the end of the 15th century. The practice is widely recognized for its philosophy: That man is a part of nature and that health is about achieving balance.

This week on #GoodNewsNextWeek: Schools out for summer, schools out forever; people are spending more on independent journalism; and a new website hopes to be the Match.com of the seed-sharing scene. MP3/Notes/Links: http://bit.ly/2pEFqe6

Good news for all local farmers! The latest United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) survey reveals that there are now 24,650 certified organic operations in the U.S. This is a 13 percent increase from 2016 and the highest growth rate we’ve seen since 2008. The number of local, organic farms has been steadily increasing — albeit haphazardly — since 2002. However, it is only this year where a steady and distinctive rise is seen. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalitionwrote on their website that “organic agriculture is one of the fastest growing sectors…for farmers across the country, strong demand for organic food translates into new and growing market opportunities.”

USDA organic certification provides farms or processing facilities the right and access to sell, label, and represent their products as organic in the United States. It is of particular importance for farms across rural America, where local industries contribute much to the area’s economic growth. As consumer demand for organic products grows, so too do sales. The USDA reported that there was approximately $43 billion in U.S. sales of organic products in 2015. Local farmers have said that being certified as organic by the USDA allows them to receive premium prices for their products.

The USDA ends their report quite succinctly; offering no justification as to why the rise is suddenly so sharp or relevant. Regardless, the growth is being lauded by many health advocates who believe in integrating into a cleaner, greener, and more organic lifestyle. The perils of pesticide-laden food, toxic tap water, and similar environmental concerns make it more necessary for people to be diligent about what they eat, what they do, and most importantly, how they live. Opting for organic food is an advantageous choice not only for your own personal health, but for the planet as well. There are several other reasons to choose organic foods, as listed on Prevention.com:

Free from chemicals – Perhaps the most important consideration, eating organically-grown food is an assurance that you are not inadvertently consuming chemical poisons. In the article, it states that around 600 active chemicals are registered for use in America, roughly translating to around 16 pounds of chemical pesticides per person each year. Moreover, the National Academy of Sciences claims that 90 percent of chemicals applied on food have not been tested for long-term effects. The FDA only tests one percent of food for pesticide residue.

Free from “watered-down” bogus nutrition – Organically-grown food contains more essential vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients compared to their commercially-grown siblings. A study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine concluded that organic food crops are grown in soil that is better-managed and less laden with chemicals. Consequently, the produce is significantly more nutrient-dense.

Free from risk – More than 90 percent of the pesticides we consume are from meat and dairy products. The EPA says that because animals are further up the food chain, chemicals accumulate in their tissues. Hormones, antibiotics, and drugs are directly passed into these food sources as well. U.S. farmers use sex or growth hormones to aid in the development of their livestock. However, these artificial enhancers cannot be broken down, even at high temperatures. We then eat these products, unknowingly consuming the same toxins.

One other benefit of organic local farming is that it protects the environment. The foundation of all local farming is one of eco-sustenance. Preservation of soil and crop rotation keep farmlands healthy. Moreover, the natural ecosystem, wherein natural flora and animal life is allowed to thrive, is balanced.

While there are no official forecasts on the trend, it is hoped that more local farms going organic will be seen spreading across our nation. Follow more news about organics at Organics.news.